The first time I really thought about going to Israel was when I watched the Ray Vander Laan video series at Chatham Christian Church. The video series takes you through biblical sites throughout Israel. The way he explained the cultural and historical significance to biblical stories and people brought me a deeper understanding of God's word. I found it fascinating and knew that if I was ever able to go to the Holy Land that I would want to see it this way. Last year my daughter, Olivia, said to me, " I want to do the study abroad program at Greenville College and go to Israel." All I could think is don't panic! Just agree and maybe it will just be a passing thought on her part. Well, it wasn't. She searched out information and approached us again. My husband and I felt like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for her and agreed that she should go. A couple of months later we got to meet her professor who was organizing the trip. Looking back I feel a little embarrassed now because I think I said something like this..."hi, yes nice to meet you, so how safe is this trip? What will you do if there is an uprising in the area? I'm a little concerned with all the violence in the middle east right now!" Hey, I'm a mom! That's what we do, right? The poor guy! He was super nice and put to ease most of my concerns. (for the moment anyway) I then confessed to him that I was more happy than concerned because I know this will be a trip of a lifetime and it was something that I have wanted to do for a long time. He looked at me and smiled and said, " We love to have adults come on the trip too!". Olivia quickly turned to me with the biggest grin and said, "Oh my goodness that would be amazing! You should come with us!". I kind of laughed it off and we left. I couldn't stop thinking about it! I kept hearing Olivia say, "You should come." A couple weeks later I finally just blurted out to Mark, "Would you be totally against me going to Israel with Olivia?" Pause button. You have to know a couple of things. 1. We have two kids in college 2. My husband is very financially conservative or as I like to call him "squeaky." I knew what he was going to say... "We can't afford that" or "that is too expensive" or "I would love to not work for a month and go off on an adventure too but" ....he didn't say any of that! He stopped brushing his teeth for a moment and said, "We could probably make it work." To me this was God at work here. My husband is a super generous man but even if he did think I should go, there is always a thought process going on. All the what if's have to be addressed and then the discussions of cutting back here and there, but we had none of that. It was a 5 minute conversation that left me in tears of excitement and joy. I was so excited I called Olivia to make sure she wasn't just being polite to me in front of her professor. We talked about it and she was still super excited about us doing this together. Olivia really did everything! She emailed the professor and sent me all information and paperwork. The deadline was coming quick and she made sure I had everything I needed. It really was a whirlwind and within a week, I was going to Israel with Olivia!!! There was much preparation to do to make the deadline and there has been plenty of classwork preparation for this trip too. Olivia and I have been doing homework by mapping significant history on maps of Israel and I have traveled every other Wednesday to Greenville to attend a class. I have even started the preparations for packing for our trip. Olivia and I are not the only ones making preparations. God is also making preparations! I feel like He started preparing my heart for this trip 10 years ago with that video series at church. It seems like all my bible studies I am involved in this year have also been preparing me. Has that ever happened to you? I have had a theme throughout my studies this year of God's amazing provision and love. I cannot wait to experience God in a whole new way. God prepare me!
